Min - Library Board - 2022 - 11/01 - Regular AGENDA
ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
TUESDAY,NOVEMBER 1,2022—6:30 P.M.
Board Members Present:
Maroba Z'oeller, Chair(Place 2)
Jeremy Wallace, Vice Chair(Place 4)
Bryce Farlow(Place 1)
Kimberly Hinton,Acting Secretary for November 1 (Place 5).
Board Members Absent:
Laura Wooten(Place 3)
Adyna Akins, Secretary (Place 6)
Rekha Mathai (Place 7)
City Staff/Officials Present:
Jeff Timbs, Director
Claudia Wayland, Assistant Director
Visitors Present:
Jeff Kacines, Library Endowment Fund Board
Trevor Khoury
1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present.
With a quorum of Board members present,the Allen Public Library Board was called to
order by Board Vice Chair Maroba Zoeller at 6:32 p.m. on Tuesday,November 1, 2022.
2. Introduce and Welcome New Board Member Jeremy Wallace.
New Board member Jeremy Wallace was introduced and warmly welcomed.
3. Elect Officers for 2022-2023.
Maroba Zoeller was elected Chair, Jeremy Wallace was elected Vice Chair, and Adyna
Akins was elected Secretary.
4. Approve Minutes of the August 2,2022,Regular Meeting.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Board Member Kimberly Hinton and seconded by Vice
Chair Jeremy Wallace, the board voted four (4) and zero (0) opposed to approve the August 2,
2022, minutes. The Motion passed.
5. Receive and Discuss Updates on Library Expansion.
Surveyors completed the property survey. Soil samples will be taken and Geotech testing
performed. The schematic design process began in early September and continues. Architects
and staff held meetings twice in October. The next item is to discuss expansion of the
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Children's program rooms. The plan should be ready to submit for Council approval in early
September 2023, with construction to begin shortly thereafter.
6. Status Report on Library Initiatives and Services.
The Fall Festival held on September 17 had approximately 1000 attendees. Halloween Story
Time was held in the Auditorium and had 136 attendees, including children in costumes.
There are currently 77 Volunteens helping with programming. Staffing vacancies are being
filled, and there are two openings for on-call audio/visual technicians. The Fall Story Times
started September 12 and will continue until November 17, with a break until mid-February.
In addition,the Library continues to conduct outreach programs to local schools and
preschools.
The Vega Discover add-on to the Polaris online library catalog will enhance the online
library catalog. The project will proceed soon and might be previewed for the Board at its
February 7 meeting.
7. Status Report on Digital Collections.
Digital checkouts represented 9% of total circulation in fiscal year 2022. The Texas Cloud
Consortium added three additional library systems (Leander, Palestine, and Dickinson). The
Consortium has more than 220,000 copies (100,000 unique items), with a total value of more
than$3 million. More audio content is constantly being added.
The contract for the Bluebird language app has been renewed for one more year and now has
an option to take a 45-minute adaptive test and receive a certificate reflecting the CEFR
(Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) score. Bluebird was used an
average of 10 times per week in FY22. The busiest months were November (156), January
(78), and May (64).
The Library is proceeding with digitizing Allen American newspapers up to 2002. The first
year's grant covered the cost from 1972 to 1986. This is funded by a second TexTreasures
Grant. The Library is eligible to apply for a third grant next year which will complete, or
nearly complete,the newspapers available. The digital files are accessible through the
University of North Texas Libraries' Portal to Texas History collection with links provided
from the Allen Public Library website.
8. Review and Discuss July, August, September, and Year-End 2022 Library Statistics.-
In July,total checkouts increased 6%,the number of digital items checked out increased by
19%, new patrons were up by 17%, information requests were up 13%, and there were 39%
more visits compared to July 2021.
August saw a 4% increase in checkouts, 13% increase in digital checkouts, 29% increase in
program attendance, 15%more new patrons and 37%more visits over last August.
In September,total checkouts were up 2%, digital checkouts up 3.5%, and in-house use was
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up 47%. There were 20%more new patrons, 7% more information requests, and visits
increased by 15.5%more than in September 2021.
In FY2021-2022,the Library had the highest ever increase (99%) in in-house use (books
used in the Library but not checked out), a 13% increase in checkouts, 9% decrease in new
titles added(due to supply chain and quality control issues), a 14% increase in program
attendance, a 10% increase in information requests, a 48%increase in new patrons, and a
79%increase in visitors. Visits were the highest since FY2019, and circulation of 1.3 million
was the second-highest circulation number achieved.
9. Recap Friends of the Library,Allen Library Endowment Fund, and ALLen Reads
Activities.
The Friends will provide lunch for the Library's Staff Development Day on November 4 and
have their next meeting next Monday,November 7.
The Endowment Fund held a fundraiser on October 15 at Blue House Too, which raised
almost$17,000 after expenses to furnish the new teen area. New officers were elected at the
October 24 meeting with Jeanie Schulmeister now serving as president. The two new Board
members are Shahmeen Khan and Jeff Kacines. The Board has identified a liaison(Anne
French)to attend Friends Board meetings and another (Rekha Kumar)to attend Library
Advisory Board meetings.
As an ALLen Reads activity,the Allen Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus performed on
October 2 for 142 people. Author Finn Murphy (The Long Haul:A Trucker's Tales of Life on
the Road)presented at the Library October 13 to a live audience of 55 with 16 more
watching virtually. Planning has begun for 2023 ALLen Reads programming.
10. Discuss Items for Future Board Meeting Agendas.
The Board wants to continue receiving updates on the Library expansion process and status.
11. Items of Interest. [Board announcements regarding local civic and charitable events,
meetings,fundraisers, and awards.j
i. November 4—Library Closed for Staff Development.
ii. November 24-25—Library Closed for Thanksgiving.
iii. December 2—Annual Board and Commission Appreciation Dinner.
iv. December 23-26—Library Closed for Christmas.
v. January 1-2, 2023 —Library Closed for New Year's.
vi. February 7, 2023 —Next Scheduled Library Advisory Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
vii. Other Calendar Items.
12. Adjourn.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by, Board Member Bryce Farlow and seconded by Vice Chair
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Jeremy Wallace,the Board voted four (4) for and none (0) opposed to adjourn the
Board meeting at 7:08 p.m. The motion passed.
These minutes approved on the 7th day of February 2023.
APPROVED: ATTEST:
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CHAIR PERSON . SECRETARY